Quantum electrodynamics of non-Hermitian Dirac fermions

Abstract

We develop an effective quantum electrodynamics for non-Hermitian (NH) Dirac materials interacting with photons. These systems are described by nonspatial symmetry protected Lorentz invariant NH Dirac operators, featuring two velocity parameters υ_H and υ_NH associated with the standard Hermitian and a masslike anti-Hermitian Dirac operators, respectively. They display linear energy-momentum relation, however, in terms of an effective Fermi velocity ${\upsilon }_{\mathrm{F}}=\sqrt{{\upsilon }_{\mathrm{H}}^2-{\upsilon }_{\mathrm{NH}}^2}$ of NH Dirac fermions. Interaction with the fluctuating electromagnetic radiation then gives birth to an emergent Lorentz symmetry in this family of NH Dirac materials in the deep infrared regime, where the system possesses a unique terminal velocity υ_F = c, with c being the speed of light. While in two dimensions such a terminal velocity is set by the speed of light in the free space, dynamic screening in three spatial dimensions permits its nonuniversal values. Manifestations of such an emergent spacetime symmetry on the scale dependence of various physical observables in correlated NH Dirac materials are discussed.